Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
